The owner of 268 Lenox Ave., where the fabled nightclub ended its 70-year run two years ago after a rent dispute, now wants to make changes to the residential units upstairs.

After the fabled Lenox Lounge ended its nearly 70-year run at the same Harlem location two years ago due to a rent dispute with the landlord, that two-story building's owner has literally elevated his sights. He wants to make changes to the single-room-occupancy residential units above.

Ricky Edmonds, who owns 286 Lenox Ave., is applying to the city for a certificate of no harassment. That document would certify that he did not harass any tenants to force them out over the previous three years, or by cutting off the heat or water, for example.

Mr. Edmonds declined to comment on plans for the single-room occupancy apartments, where city rules permit smaller and often cheaper units that in many cases share bathrooms. But SRO experts said that in many cases landlords apply for certificates of no harassment before making major changes to units—taking out or adding bathrooms, for example.

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"What we see usually in SROs is that the owner is going to combine the units to create larger units," said Marti Weithman of the SRO Law Project, who said single-room occupancy apartments play a vital role in the city's affordable-housing stock.

The original Lenox Lounge, where jazz greats like Miles Davis once performed, decided to pack up shop and move two blocks north after the 2012 dispute, but owner Alvin Reed was later sued for taking some of the original fixtures with him.